Cassini's laws
Leyes de Cassini
- Date
- 1693 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- Giovanni Domenico Cassini
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Cassini's laws are a compact description of the Moon's rotational and orbital motion, explaining why it always shows the same face to Earth. They were established in 1693 by astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, and have since been refined and generalized to other satellites and planets.
What it led to
- Explanation of the tidal locking between Earth and the Moon
- Reference model for the motion of other natural satellites
- Basis for later studies of lunar libration